That seems unlikely.
I think they're in Boston, but, even in New York, which, for office space is even more expensive than SF, the excuse that square footage is too expensive seems shaky, especially since it's been trotted out routinely over the past 3 decades.
This blog post shows a credible calculation, even assuming remarkably low salaries (and a fairly credible $5/sqft):
https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/hr/2016/...
The real key, though, is at the end:
> the calculation above doesn't count the cost of setting up the offices
For an early startup, that cost, both in dollars and, perhaps most importantly time (move-in delay), could easily be prohibitive.
Of course, once the company is past the early stage, it may just be habit or cargo cult.
